The only gift
by AlyssJocelyn
Summary: I have only two gifts I could give you and only one will mean anything to you -my love and immortality.
1. Chapter 1

_I have only two gifts I could give you and only one will mean anything to you -my love and immortality._

These words rang through his mind as his opened his eyes and looked up at his lover standing above him pleading for him to open his eyes. His gasp of breath had the other pulling his body towards him quickly saying his name over and over asking him how this was possible. He couldn't answer, he was still in his mind reliving a year that didn't truly exist but was lived.

"I'm alright." Were the only words he was able to pass as his mind returned to those words…murmured in hurt and sadness against his ear at what he believed to be the end of their lives. _I want you to know that I never expected anything from you I know he has your heart._ Thank you for letting me love you. "Alyssian."

"Ianto?" Jack asked pulling away from. He knew tears were falling from his eyes but he wouldn't be able to explain them to Jack. "Martha, you should examine him make sure –"

He looked up Martha and saw recognition for a moment before it was covered by her medic persona. "I don't need a check-up."

"You just came back from the dead." Jack told him quietly. "I'm grateful but was need to know-"

"I know why." He said quietly closing his eyes against the memory of the small person leaning against him and whispering against his ear promising love and his happiness not believing they could ever be both the same. "I'll let Martha examine me though."

"Jack, you have to let Ianto go if you want me to examine him." Martha said slowly detaching the Captain from his lover and moving him gently to the side.

He watched as Jack reluctantly moved away, in his sky blue eyes he saw the warring emotion – relief that his lover was okay and suspicion that something else was going on. He wanted to laugh and cry at that thought.

_Time'll reverse. I hope you don't remember any of this. Be happy._

"Everything looks fine." He looked into Martha's eyes and for the first time he saw something besides affection. A quiet accusation letting him know –

"There has to be something." Jack said quietly.

"He's back, does it really matter why?" Mickey said from above them.

"I'm happy he's back but I just-"

Ianto knew Jack was thinking about Owen and his undead life…the pain in his chest seemed to grow. "It's a gift, Jack." Ianto said calmly reaching for the Captains hand. "Trust me."

"I love you." Jack answered him. Ianto closed his eyes as an echo of the words in a soft falsetto seemed to resonate through his mind.

"I love you too, Jack." Ianto laid back down and closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

"God, you must be in pain. I remember how much coming from a –"

"I'm not in pain." I just have an extra year of fighting things worse than the Toclafane coming through the howling because of the Master. The thought never crossing his lips as his closed his eyes as saw the sky wretched open and watched small metal balls terrorize the Earth and at that moment thought it was the worst thing that could happen. "I'm just tired."

"We should let him rest." Martha said quietly. He watched as she began to remove a needle and sever empty tube, "I would like to take some blood though before Jack takes you home."

"Blood?" Ianto was horrified at the thought. He didn't know what exactly was done to give him this Immortality but he didn't want it too closely examined.

"Jack, why don't you get everything finished off while I finish with Ianto, that way you can take him home once we're done." Martha told the Captain quietly. He kissed Ianto on the forehead and dragged Mickey back through the hub, "You're Caden."

"It was my tad's name, my middle name. When did you meet-"

"Only once." Martha interrupted as she began to draw blood, "I was alone passing though France when it happened." He watched as one tube filled and she inserted another. "We travelled for a while, I asked and was told. You are greatly loved."

"I know." His heart burned now and the more his memories seemed to settle the worse the burning became. He closed his eyes and looked away from Martha, "Alyssian."

"What are you going to tell Jack?" Martha asked him quietly. Ianto didn't know so he had no answer for his friend. "You are going to tell him, right?"

"Yes, Martha," Ianto answered tiredly, "I will tell him, eventually." He opened his eyes, his night blue eyes fixed Martha with a firm warning. "There is a lot more that you don't know or understand about the situation that I have to work through but I WILL TELL JACK."

"Fine but you know-" She began placing a cotton ball against his arm and bandaging it.

"A lot more than you." He slowly got up from the table when he heard Jack's footsteps, "I'm asking you as a friend to let me handle this. You think you understand the situation but you don't."

"I know that Alyssian loved you but didn't believe you-"

"That's wrong. I did. Martha leave it alone." Ianto had quietly put his suit jacket on and turned towards Jack, "I'm ready."

"Is something wrong?" Jack asked as Ianto moved towards him. He looked over Ianto's head at Martha, "He's okay."

"As far as I can tell, he's fine." Martha answered as she turned away from his taking the blood samples.

"Why do I feel like I'm-"

"I want to go home, Jack." Ianto was standing beside him looking even more tired. "I'll explain everything soon. I just need time to rest." Jack nodded and escorted the exhausted Welshman out of the hubs.

Love hate? Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

An: Torchwood doesn't belong to me…I just want to play with them a while.

**It's been 6 days since Jack woke from the dead, kissed him and disappeared, Ianto reflected as he watched the sun set over the strait. He loosened his red tie, Jack's favorite as he the rusted shine on the water broken and rippled seemed to reflect the bleeding in his heart. The sunset seemed to reflect his life…the setting of the bright light of Jack in his life. His betrayal that he wasn't certain was forgiven by his…Ianto was at a lost on how to finish that sentence. Was Jack, his lover or friend with benefit? Was Owen right and he was simply just an available shag to the magnanimous Immortal Captain, who was filled with mystery, majestic and a hell of a lot of sex appeal.**

**Hands clenched at the thought of Jack. Ianto wasn't sure what he felt more greatly anger, sadness or emptiness but whatever it was it was steadily bleeding out of him. He was worried soon the others would notice. Ianto opened his top button, revealing his neck to the cooling dusk breeze as the rust seemed to bleed into a deeper pink and orange color. Jack loved when he wore pink or turned pink. He remembered the Captain whispering in his ear, how he loved his blush making Ianto flush deeper.**

**"Here." A quiet voice said from beside him, he looked down and saw that it came from a bouquet of sunflowers wrapped in what appeared to be a jean sleeve and tied with a yellow ribbon. He peered beyond the bouquet to see a set of small hands holding it tightly. "Here, sir." The young boy peered from behind it shaking the bouquet in his direction again. "This isn't light can you please take it?"**

**"I think you have the wrong person." Ianto said as he took the flowers.**

**"Nope," The boy opened a paper and turned it towards Ianto. It was a drawn portrait of himself as he was when he first arrived, black suit, white shirt with a red tie all done in pastel. "This is you, right?"**

**"Where did you get this?" Ianto asked the boy looking around hopefully. The sunflowers were red. He searched around for a tall man in dark grey military coat. "Was it a man?"**

**"No, it was this ginger headed bird. She comes into our cart once a week to buy flowers, always different flowers. She bought 18 and asked my mum if I could deliver half of them to you, gave me this picture so I knew who I was delivering too. I gotta go now." The boy turned quickly and ran away only to trip over his own feet as he stop abruptly, "oh yeah." The boy ran back and handed him a note.**

**'I hope this makes you smile. The bold red always makes me smile. You feel like you could use something to lighten your life at the moment. I'm sorry but I hope you have a better day – Alyssian' Ianto read quietly examining the handwriting, it was written in very straight, each curve perfectly perpendicular on the paper. It wasn't Tosh's neat slanted hand or Gwen's chicken scratch and he knew Owen wouldn't even attempt to do something so gushy. He looked around the park quickly trying to see where this mysterious AS was but there wasn't any ginger headed females around watching him. Ianto brought to flowers up to his nose and smelt them for a minute smiling as their odor was sweet and rich like their color.**

**Ianto looked over at the flowers being sold by the side of the road. "Jack stop the car." He watched as Jack reluctantly topped the car and he jumped out quickly purchasing the flowers from the woman and boy, the same boy that had delivered them. "Do you know who I am?"**

**"No, sir." Ianto's eyes focused on the color of the flowers. "A red headed woman asked you to deliver them to me, she gave you a picture of me –"**

_I need you to listen to me, Caden. I won't exist. No, I don't call Owen to examine me, Caden. There is a price for everything. All actions come with consequences and immortality is a very heedy...Caden, please, you have to listen to me._

Ianto paid for the flowers and quickly returned to the car, sliding in once against beside Jack.

"Ianto, what's going on?" Jack asked as he started the car continuing towards Ianto's flat.

"A year ago, I learned what was really beyond the rift, The Howling."

"You're not making sense."

"I know. We aren't ready, Jack and the future is going to burn…because of me."

_There is a price for everything, Caden._

Love? Flame? Continue?


End file.
